Month: October 2016

Melissa Ferguson is an adjunct professor for New Testament at King University. She’s quite fond of her twins (and soon-to-be baby girl!), iced lattes, jogging with a good audiobook, hiking the AT outside her door, living in the charming town of Bristol, and her one-in-a-billion husband.

We want to invite you to join us this fall on Nov. 13-14 at King University to convene with leading scholars from around the world to hear their latest research about archaeology and the Bible. This is our largest, and very popular, once-a-year seminar series designed specifically for the interested academic. This year’s conference is in conjunction with King’s Department of Philosophy and Religion. We would like to invite you to join this conference with your students and colleagues.

Sessions over the two days will cover topics from the Hebrew Bible, the New Testament, and the latest Biblical archaeological discoveries by eminent Syro-Palestinian archaeologists. Regions of interest include Jerusalem, Judah, and Azekah which overlooks the Valley of Elah where David fought Goliath.

This year’s conference theme “What’s Going on with Biblical Archaeology in Israel?” will include sessions with three renowned scholars and archaeologists including:

• Dr. Manfred Oeming is a professor at the University of Heidelberg in Germany for 20 years, serving for the last decade as the University’s dean of the Faculty of Theology. He is considered an authority in the areas of exegesis of the Hebrew Bible, Biblical archaeology, and hermeneutics. A noted scholar and lecturer, Oeming has taught Old Testament theology and Biblical archaeology in Mainz, Osnabrück, and Heidelberg, and has written and edited numerous books and articles. He is also co-director with Oded Lipschits and Yuval Gadot of the Ramat Rahel Excavation project, and since 2012 of The Lautenschläger Azekah Expedition.
• Dr. Oded Lipschits is a professor of Jewish History in the Biblical period at Tel Aviv University in Israel, where he founded the International MA and PhD Program in Ancient Israel Studies within the Department of Archaeology and Ancient Near Eastern Cultures. He also serves as the director of the Sonia and Marco Nadler Institute of Archaeology. He is the co-director with Manfred Oeming and Yuval Gadot of the Ramat-Rahel Archaeological Project since 2004, and since 2010, he has been the co-director of the Lautenschläger Azekah Expedition. He has authored numerous books and papers. His book “The Fall and Rise of Jerusalem: Judah Under Babylonian Rule” is one of the world’s most popular sources on the Biblical period.
• Dr. Yuval Gadot is a senior lecturer in the Department of Archaeology and Ancient Near Eastern Cultures at Tel Aviv University in Israel. He also directs the University’s excavations at the City of David and co-directs the Ramat Rahel Excavation project, and since 2012 of The Lautenschläger Azekah Expedition. Gadot holds a doctorate from Tel Aviv University where he studied the Late Bronze Age and the Iron Age in Israel’s central coastal plain. His work includes the first full publication of the excavations at Tel Aphek and a regional study of trends in the material culture as they understood in relation to historical events. Currently, he leads an archaeological dating project involving the introduction of agricultural terraces in the Jerusalem highlands, a project that carries cross-cultural significance.
This fall conference will take place at King University’s main campus in Bristol, Tenn., and First Presbyterian Church of Bristol, which is adjacent to the campus. The conference will open at 4 p.m. on Sunday, Nov. 13 at First Presbyterian with a panel discussion to include Dr. Oeming, Dr. Lipschits and Dr. Gadot. The preeminent scholars will address current Biblical archaeological endeavors in Israel/Palestine and will be willing to take your questions. A reception will follow at 5 p.m. At 6 p.m. on Sunday evening, the following keynote lectures will be presented in the sanctuary of First Presbyterian.

Prof. Oded Lipschits: “The Age of Empires”: Ramat Raḥel as the Centre of Judahite Administration under Assyrian, Babylonian and Persian Rule (20 minutes)

Dr. Yuval Gadot: Jerusalem and It’s Hinterland in the Late First Temple Period (20 minutes)

Panel Discussion (20 minutes)

5 PM: Reception (First Presbyterian Bristol Chapel)

6 PM: Keynote Addresses (First Presbyterian Bristol Sanctuary)

Prof. Oded Lipschits: Archaeology: New Methods and New Discoveries that Changed our Understanding of the Biblical Period (30 minutes)
In this lecture, Prof. Lipschits will present the modern methods and the new discoveries in modern archaeology of the land of the Bible and the way these discoveries shed new light on our understanding of the history of the Biblical Period. He will demonstrate many discoveries from his excavations and from excavations of other colleagues, and he will discuss many of the well-known periods and events described in the Old Testament.

Prof. Yuval Gadot: “Taking out the Trash”: Life in Early Roman Jerusalem as Seen through its Garbage Disposal Layers (30 minutes)
In this lecture, Prof. Yuval Gadot will present his findings from the recent excavations in the City of David in the many layers of trash from the 1st Century CE and what these excavations can teach us about life in Jerusalem in the time of Jesus.

Prof. Manfred Oeming: “The Stones and the Word”: The Importance of Archaeology for the Interpretation of the Bible” (30 minutes)
Prof. Oeming will provide a short survey of different positions regarding the connection between archaeology and the Bible and will demonstrate how both elements should be combined.Prof. Oeming will utilize the results of excavations in Tel Azekah, Israel. Most importantly, he will present many supports for the biblical record (Canaanites, Joshua, Sennacherib, Nehemiah?). He will also discuss the current debate concerning King David. We are still missing essential evidence especially regarding David’s time. Therefore, we MUST continue to excavate, to attain more results, and continue with attempts to learn the history of the biblical period.

15 minutes for Q&A:

Monday 9:15 AM – Lecture in the Memorial Chapel, King University Campus

Yuval Gadot: The New Excavations at Tel Azekah after 5 Seasons (25 minutes)

10 minutes for Q&A:

This unique international conference on the outstanding findings and discoveries from archaeological excavations that have taken place recently in Israel/Palestine will enable participants to better understand the ancient world of the land of the Southern Levant. For anyone who is interested in the land and history of the Bible, he or she will enjoy this conference immensely and will gain a greater understanding of the Bible.

Archaeology of the Bible Conference
We look forward to seeing you at this year’s conference at King University in November. For details, contact me at dmhudson@king.edu or 423.652.4154.

Don Michael Hudson

Don Michael Hudson, PhD, is Professor of Religious Studies and Chair of the Philosophy and Religion Department at King College in Bristol, TN. He serves on the governing board of the King Institute of Faith and Culture and manages King College's participation in the Tel Azekah dig with Tel Aviv University.